Disabled persons, reliant upon a wheelchair for mobility, are extremely inconvenienced and may be placed in the position of great physical discomfort owing to the lack of design consideration of their usual space requirements in many public and private facilities. Total immobility is experienced over long time periods when traveling by public transportation such as airplanes and buses. Narrow hallways and bathroom doors prevent their comfortable participation in many functions both public and private.
Width requirements for a normal self-propelled wheelchair are dictated by physical dimensions of the occupant, stability considerations, and considerations of weight and economics in construction.
In traveling, a disabled person normally is required to check his wheelchair for cargo transport and use an airport-provided, narrow, attendant-propelled chair for ingress to an airplane or the like. Once on the plane, the narrow chair is returned to the airport terminal with no provision for in-plane mobility. At the termination of a flight, a chair must be located at the receiving airport terminal and the passenger's chair claimed from cargo, frequently in carelessly handled condition. In other facilities, public, commercial, and especially private homes, little or no consideration is given to the special width and turning radius requirements of wheelchair reliant persons.